The free-market doctrine does not rest on an assumption that consumers make wise choices. Like the mythical “economic man,” the Perfectly Wise Individual is a straw man created by the critics of the theory.

Among themselves, libertarians often see important dividing lines among various factions in terms of social views and lifestyles. But most on the outside define libertarianism as being overwhelmingly for one thing: excessive and "dogmatic" devotion to free markets.